Chapter 41

Chapter 41

He didn't know when Murong Jie had begun plotting against his three elder brothers, but the fact that he could quietly plant his own people beside the Crown Prince at this stage showed he was a born emperor.

At this point, he still didn't have full control over his own fate, still under the thumb of the Murong imperial family, and hadn't even gotten his hands on the Lu family's military power. All he had was the Yuezhi tribe his mother had left him.

His mother was a Yuezhi princess, and her father was the former king of Yuezhi. After the king was forced to hand his daughter over to the emperor, he never remarried, instead holding the Yuezhi tribe together until Murong Jie turned fourteen, at which point he handed over the remnants of the tribe to him.

That man was loyal and righteous—a hundred times better than the dog emperor.

No wonder Murong Jie's mother never forgot him, and even in death, she tried to protect him.

And Murong Jie carried all of that with him. He used his imperial status, the intelligence network of Tianhuan Tower, and the leverage he had over ministers with secrets to make them secretly serve him.

The whole time, those ministers never even knew which prince they were serving.

At this moment, in the imperial palace, the Empress was heartbroken, crying so hard she was about to pass out. She clutched the Third Prince's body and sobbed, "Your Majesty, you have to get justice for your son! He was obedient since childhood. I don't know who he offended, but how can a mother have to bury her own child!"

The Emperor was hurting too. Though he had many sons, only these three were the Empress's own sons.

These three had also grown up right beside him—it would be a lie to say he wasn't sad. He sighed and said, "Issue a decree: make the Third Prince Prince Dun posthumously, and give him a grand burial."

But the Empress wasn't done. She crawled forward on her knees, grabbing the Emperor's legs and shaking them hard, "Your Majesty, our son can't die for nothing! You must uncover the truth and clear my son's name—he was killed unjustly!"

The Emperor rubbed his temples, frustrated, and nodded. "Fine, as you wish, I'll have the Imperial City Bureau look into it."

Soon, the commander of the Imperial City Bureau got the assignment and prepared to investigate the case.

But everyone knew this case was a hot potato. Everyone knew the Third Prince had gotten into a fight with the Second Prince before his death—the two had even brawled in the streets.

Investigating this case meant the first person they'd have to question would be the Second Prince.

No matter how reluctant the Imperial City Bureau commander was, he had to go through the motions. The tricky part was: if he actually found evidence that the Second Prince was the killer, should he report it or not?

Lu Yunqi couldn't give a damn about the Imperial City Bureau commander's dilemma. At this moment, he was lounging on a couch, basking in the sun, and he'd called over a dance troupe. The lead singer was exceptionally handsome, and Lu Yunqi liked what he saw.

But after listening for a while, he felt like something was off. He waved the young man over and said, "Tell me, what's this song you're singing about?"

The young man bowed to Lu Yunqi and replied, "To answer you, my lord, it's about a woman who pines for a man, but he marries someone else. She's dying of lovesickness, wanting to laugh but can't."

Lu Yunqi tsked and said, "This song you're singing isn't good, and I don't like the lyrics. Here's what—I'll write you new lyrics and teach you a new tune. You can redo it for me."

The young man replied, "Yes, my lord."

So Lu Yunqi taught the young man to sing "The Moon Represents My Heart."

When the young singer first heard the song, he was completely blown away. He knelt right in front of Lu Yunqi, begging desperately to become his disciple.

Lu Yunqi was feeling pretty smug, thinking, not bad at all—no wonder time travelers all steal other people's poems. He'd only copied a song, and already people worshipped him for it. It really was satisfying.

Alas, the only pity was that there wasn't much left for him to copy. Copying a few songs and tunes here and there for amusement wasn't a bad way to pass the time.

So in the following days, Lu Yunqi's courtyard often echoed with lyrics like: "A gentle kiss, has already touched my heart. A deep, deep love..."

The moment Murong Jie heard it, he flew into a rage. Fine, just fine, Lu Yunqi—so men really don't appreciate what they've won!

Just a while ago he said he loved me to death, and now he's having a "deep, deep love" with someone else?

When he kicked open the door, Lu Yunqi was happily tapping out the rhythm, humming along with the tune.

Seeing him arrive, Lu Yunqi quickly waved him over. "Husband, you're here? Come, come, sit with me."

Murong Jie's face was cold as ice. He swept a glance over the handsome young performers and said, "Send them away!"

Lu Yunqi asked, somewhat confused, "Hmm? What's wrong? Come listen to the music with me! Tell me, is this tune good or not?"

Murong Jie said in a low voice, "It's truly wonderful! But I wonder, just who is Young Lord Lu having a 'deep love' with, and who exactly does he want to kiss so gently?"

Lu Yunqi frowned and instinctively asked, "Is my husband jealous? Oh, husband, don't be jealous. I wrote this song for you myself! Who else could I have a deep love with? Besides you, I've never had another man. Who else would I want to kiss besides you?"

Though Murong Jie's gloomy expression didn't completely clear, his face looked considerably better.

Lu Yunqi thought to himself, this man is a living demon king. I was just singing a song, and he's already coming after me?

But as someone who'd been killed nine times over, he naturally couldn't act too assertive in front of someone stronger. Playing small and submissive was the bare minimum.

So he stepped forward, pulled Murong Jie onto the reclining couch, swung a leg over to straddle him, and whispered softly in his ear, "My husband doesn't believe me? Then let me sing it for you myself. I was planning to rehearse it and let you judge it properly, but since you've already heard it, let me sing it for you right now."

With that, he nuzzled against Murong Jie's face and began to sing in a low voice: "You ask... how deep... my love for you is..."

As he sang, he undid Murong Jie's robes and gently kissed his chest: "A gentle... kiss..."

He kissed his way down, then back up: "Has already touched... my heart..."

Lowering his gaze, he kissed his lips: "A deep... deep love... that makes me miss you... to this very day..."

By the time he reached this part, Lu Yunqi's skin was already flushed with warmth. He pressed down on Murong Jie's shoulders and took his fingers into his mouth. Murong Jie's fingers pressed against his tongue, making his words increasingly slurred.

But Lu Yunqi gently licked the webbing of his thumb and whispered, "Husband, did I sing well? Do you like this song? I love you—do you love me?"

His answer came in wave after wave of conquest.

Lu Yunqi thought to himself, Murong Jie is treating me like an inflatable doll. Sure enough, a virgin's first taste is a dangerous thing—no matter how powerful a man is, he can still be controlled by what's below the belt!

==========Author's Note:==========

Note: Lyrics from — "The Moon Represents My Heart" by Teresa Teng